1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to photofinishing operations, and more specifically to methods and apparatus for tracking and processing photographic materials and associated information in such operations.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a typical photofinishing operation, individual rolls of photographic film are removed from their containing cartridges and spliced together to facilitate development and printing. The cartridges are broken open and discarded. The film is removed from the cartridges and the resulting film strips are spliced together, end-to-end, to form a larger roll that is easier to handle with automated equipment. The spliced film roll is unwound and rewound several times as it is run through film development and paper printing stations. Near the end of the process, the spliced film roll is cut into strips again, corresponding in some whole number to the customer order, and is matched with the prints for return to the customer.
Information required for processing is retrieved in two different operations. The first is a manual sorting step at the beginning of the process that uses product information and customer instructions delivered to the photofinisher with the processing order. The film is manually sorted into batches according to the required parameters for film development and paper printing. The second is in the printer itself, after the film is developed. The printer scans the developed images on the film to determine and set printing parameters such as transfer densities and color corrections.
Photographic processes have been proposed in which the film is retained in its cartridge throughout the processing operation. The cartridges typically are handled by conveyers that transport the cartridges between and through the various processing steps. The film is pulled or otherwise extended from its cartridge, operated on in one station, and rewound back into the cartridge for movement to the next station. This continues until processing is complete and the film, still in its cartridge, is matched with the prints and returned to the customer. Examples of this approach are disclosed in Shigaki U.S. Pat. No. 5,093,686, issued Mar. 3, 1992, and Takahashi U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,439, issued Jul. 27, 1993.
Still other approaches have been proposed in which the film is removed from its cartridge for development and printing, but then is reloaded into a similar cartridge for return with the prints to the customer. The two patents cited in the paragraph above also describe this approach.